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Boudet JF, Lintuvuori J, Lacouture C, Barois T, Deblais A, Xie K, Cassagnere S, Tregon B, Brückner DB, Baret JC, Kellay H. From collections of independent, mindless robots to flexible, mobile, and directional superstructures. Sci Robot 2021; 6:6/56/eabd0272. [PMID: 34290101 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abd0272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
A swarm of simple active particles confined in a flexible scaffold is a promising system to make mobile and deformable superstructures. These soft structures can perform tasks that are difficult to carry out for monolithic robots because they can infiltrate narrow spaces, smaller than their size, and move around obstacles. To achieve such tasks, the origin of the forces the superstructures develop, how they can be guided, and the effects of external environment, especially geometry and the presence of obstacles, need to be understood. Here, we report measurements of the forces developed by such superstructures, enclosing a number of mindless active rod-like robots, as well as the forces exerted by these structures to achieve a simple function, crossing a constriction. We relate these forces to the self-organization of the individual entities. Furthermore, and based on a physical understanding of what controls the mobility of these superstructures and the role of geometry in such a process, we devise a simple strategy where the environment can be designed to bias the mobility of the superstructure, giving rise to directional motion. Simple tasks-such as pulling a load, moving through an obstacle course, or cleaning up an arena-are demonstrated. Rudimentary control of the superstructures using light is also proposed. The results are of relevance to the making of robust flexible superstructures with nontrivial space exploration properties out of a swarm of simpler and cheaper robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- J F Boudet
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - J Lintuvuori
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - C Lacouture
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - T Barois
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - A Deblais
- Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, 1098XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - K Xie
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - S Cassagnere
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - B Tregon
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - D B Brückner
- Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics and Center for NanoScience, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Theresienstr. 37, D-80333 Munich, Germany
| | - J C Baret
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, CRPP-UMR5031, 33600 Pessac, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, 75005 Paris, France
| | - H Kellay
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33400 Talence, France. .,Institut Universitaire de France, 75005 Paris, France
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Deblais A, Barois T, Guerin T, Delville PH, Vaudaine R, Lintuvuori JS, Boudet JF, Baret JC, Kellay H. Boundaries Control Collective Dynamics of Inertial Self-Propelled Robots. Phys Rev Lett 2018; 120:188002. [PMID: 29775342 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.188002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Simple ingredients, such as well-defined interactions and couplings for the velocity and orientation of self-propelled objects, are sufficient to produce complex collective behavior in assemblies of such entities. Here, we use assemblies of rodlike robots made motile through self-vibration. When confined in circular arenas, dilute assemblies of these rods act as a gas. Increasing the surface fraction leads to a collective behavior near the boundaries: polar clusters emerge while, in the bulk, gaslike behavior is retained. The coexistence between a gas and surface clusters is a direct consequence of inertial effects as shown by our simulations. A theoretical model, based on surface mediated transport accounts for this coexistence and illustrates the exact role of the boundaries. Our study paves the way towards the control of collective behavior: By using deformable but free to move arenas, we demonstrate that the surface induced clusters can lead to directed motion, while the topology of the surface states can be controlled by biasing the motility of the particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Deblais
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - T Barois
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - T Guerin
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - P H Delville
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - R Vaudaine
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - J S Lintuvuori
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - J F Boudet
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
| | - J C Baret
- CNRS, Univ. Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - H Kellay
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France
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